


Love Bites

by AutisticToad



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:33:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22113400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticToad/pseuds/AutisticToad
Summary: After getting caught by Councilor Sparatus, Emily Wong has no choice but to interview the Normandy crew and look for dirt against Shepard. After finding evidence that a couple of Female crew members have the same mating bite, she decides to find out who the Alpha is.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Ashley Williams, Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni, Female Shepard/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Karin Chakwas & Female Shepard
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	Love Bites

**Author's Note:**

> Long time lurker, first time poster. hope you enjoy!

As a reporter you would normally be excited at the opportunity for a sit down with a member of the council. Such an exclusive would be a career maker and put you on the map, if you were willing to do their bidding. That is what this was of course. She had no political connections so this would absolutely be a quid pro quo meeting. She nervously tugged at the hem of her dress. It was maroon and form fitting but still professional for her field. Still, she could not help but feel vulnerable in it. The Turian councilor Sparatus was known to be quite nasty when it came to dealing with humans. If only combat armor was standard clothing for reporters. She looked up and saw an exhausted looking Turian secretary approaching her. 

"Excuse me miss, the Councilor will see you now." She stood up and patted the creases of her dress out. She walked through the open door with as much confidence as she could muster. She saw him sitting in a sterile, barely furnished white room. A stainless steel desk with glass and electronics embedded inside, and a couple of soft looking chairs were all that adorned his office. "Councilor Sparatus, it is an honor to be requested to assist the council. Are you and everyone that was onboard the Destiny Ascension doing well?" Sparatus motioned for her to sit in the chair facing him.

" Emily Wong was it? Yes we are all safe, just shaken from the battle. I suppose that is getting off easy considering we were dealing with the Geth." He sighed and clasped his talons together. She could see his mandibles twitching. Everyone knew it was commander Shepard who saved the councillors lives, no doubt leading to his frustration. His disdain for humanity, and especially Shepard was well known. He booted up his omnitool and typed in a combination. A screen rose from the desk angled towards her and blinked to life. Her own work gazing back at her. He looked up at her before continuing. 

"So I read your recent report about the air traffic controller conditions. Fascinating stuff really. Anything that could threaten Citadel day to day activity is something I pay attention to. I agree that their conditions could be improved, so I decided to look up your data and compare it to the official servers. To my surprise Your data matched our records down to the smallest detail. Imagine that? It got me wondering as to how you accrued such accurate data." 

She froze. In all the chaos and confusion from the attack, she forgot about one crucial aspect of the report. Shepard helped her out by placing a bug on their system. It was the source of her data. It spent almost a month aggregating data for her. Things like how long an air traffic controller officer shift was, how many were present to spread the workload, and how often they took breaks. She heard the control tower as destroyed in the attack, which she assumed took the bug with it. Why would he bring this up now?

Councilor Sparatus pulled out a small container and placed it on his desk. He smirked before popping the lid with his talon. She gazed at the contents of the box and her eyes went wide. Inside was the sleek black bug Shepard provided for her. Sparatus let out a satisfied chuckle. "Did you know that bugging government property is a capital offense? What if the bug malfunctioned and shorted out the system? How many collisions do you think that would cause? What if the bug was hijacked by people with nefarious plans? This was highly illegal of you miss Wong, not to mentioned stupid." He brought his talons up and slowly swiped across the air. 

" I can see it now on Citadel weekly roundup. Disgraced reporter Emily Wong credentials revoked as she was arrested on suspicion of aiding the Geth, more coming up after the break." He smirked and leveled a grin at her, revealing sharp fangs. Had he really cared for public safety he would have C-Sec arrest her and parade her around for political points. He had her where he wanted, cornered and in no position to fight back.

She fought back the urge to vomit out of fear and rising anxiety, it would probably make her position worse. "W-what do you want Sparatus?" He stood up and strutted around his desk before sitting on top and leaning in. " You are scheduled to interview Shepard and her merry crew of misfits in the next couple of days. You will look for any information that proves her incompetence in the handling of the Geth attack. I need an excuse to kick her from the Spectres and if spirits allow me, to put humanity in its place." His talons scraped against his desk, like a predator about to achieve a kill. "I will provide you with mandatory questions you must ask. They are to be interlaced with normal questions of your choosing, to provide an air of impartial professional journalism. Oh and yes, refusal means walking out in cuffs and paraded around like a pariah." 

She swallowed nervously. Shepard was a good friend to her and she was not about to admit the bug was hers. Shepard was an upstanding commander that inspired others to be better, surely playing along with his schemes will prove fruitless in the end. She closed her eyes and sighed, there was only one way forward. 

"What questions do you want me to ask?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What councilor Sparatus failed to mention was that the Normandy crew were currently recovering from their injuries in La Huerta Hospital. They had been there for three weeks now and were recovering well. Shepard endured the worst of the pain, having been nearly crushed to death by fallen sovereign debris. While Shepard was awake and lucid, she was left off the interview docket. Medical reasons, purportedly. 

To her surprise getting the members of Shepard's crew to sit down in the same room with her was rather painless. She expected to be fought all the way considering it was Sparatus who set this up, but everyone agreed without much fuss. Sitting in front of her in a quiet corner of the hospital was Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Her hair which was usually kept in a neat bun was flowing freely to her chin. No doubt longer than Alliance regulations allowed. Cuts and abrasions marred her fine features. Her left arm was bound in a cast and supported by a sling the went around her neck. "Chief Williams, it is great to see you come out unharmed from the attack. Well, more or less." Williams gave her a hard stare before nodding and flashing a warm smile.

"Emily Wong right? Normally I would tell you to beat it, but Shepard said you were good people. So ill answer what I can, even with Sparatus's agenda being the reason for this interview." She gave Williams an apologetic smile.

"Look, Shepard is a good friend to me. Helped out in a couple of cases when no one gave a damn. I have no choice in the matter, but that doesn't mean I'm going along without a fight. Better me than Khalisah al-jilani right?" Ashley chuckled at the last part. Shepard and her crews disdain of Khalisah was a stuff of legend. That, and the right hook Shepard threw at Khalisah knocking her out. She had that clip bookmarked. 

“ What is up with that reporter anyway? I swear she will write whatever she wants regardless of what you say. Anyway, just Ashley will be fine.” Ashley extended her hand out in a sign of good faith. She shook her hand before looking down at her datapad.

“Thanks Ashley. Now remember, these are not my questions. These all come from Sparatus. I would prefer to finish all the interviews today if possible.” Ashley seemed confused for a moment. “Who else you got on docket Wong?”

“I have you, Liara T’soni, Karin Chakwas, and a Tali’Zorah nar Rayya.” She replied, letting out a sigh. A lot of people to be grilled for a Turians obsession. She straightened out her posture to begin the crusade. 

“Alpha behavior is quite monitored in the Alliance, specifically that of aggressive and dominant behavior. In your time aboard the Normandy, have you ever witnessed aggressive behavior from Commander Shepard that was not necessary for her assignment?” 

“None at all” Ashley replied.

“Ok then, was every aggressive behavior exhibited by Commander Shepard properly recorded and or catalogued for internal review?” 

“The normandy has security cameras fitted in most major sections. If any aggressive behavior occurred inside then yes, it was recorded. As for the field we use helmets with video uplink to the Normandy. All our footage is stored on the Normandy Database and then transferred to Alliance HQ when we near any comm buoys.” Ashley said with a furrowed brow.

"Next question miss Williams. Commander Shepard is an Alpha in a leadership position. Have you ever seen her abuse her position of power in order to coerce fellow Omega crew mates?" 

Ashley brought a fist to her mouth and bit down in anger. "Jesus Christ no, hell no! Shepard is the kind of person that inspires others to be the very best they can be. She is incapable of that! The notion is goddamn offensive. Just because she is an Alpha doesnt mean shes a violent brute. Biology is not destiny!" Ashley slammed her fist to the table to punctuate her statement. She raised her hands in a sign of surrender.

"I apologize miss Williams if this offends you, but I am under obligation to ask these questions.” After a string of expletives Ashley managed to calm down. Shaking her head side to side in an attempt to dust off the bile. 

"Are we almost done here or what? How many questions are left?" She hummed and scanned her data pad.

" almost done, just 25 to go." Ashley slammed her head onto the table in defeat. " fuck me."

***  
The Interview concluded an hour later to the delight of both women. Ashley was busy rolling her head trying to get the kinks out as she picked up her items. As Ashley stood to leave she adjusted the sling with her right hand. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the flesh revealed below the strap. On her neck under rosy flesh was the mark of an Alpha mating bite. Even as a beta she could smell the powerful pheromones on it through the smoke and dust of the damaged citadel. Ashley caught her quizzical look and followed her eyes. "I'm sorry for staring, I was unaware you were an Omega." Ashley scratched the back of her neck like a nervous tick.

" Yeah well it's not like I like to broadcast my status to the whole Alliance. It doesn't interfere with my job." She said with a nervous chuckle.

"Judging by the mark you have chosen a mate. That's wonderful news Ashley. Where did you meet if you don't mind me asking?" Ashley traced the outline of the mark with her index finger. Her eyes her hazy and her smile radiated pure love as she reminisced.

" Eden Prime."

***

According to her schedule she had time to kill before her next interview. Feeling her stomach grumbling she decided to head to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was bustling with commotion. Doctors and nurses needing to rejuvenate were scrambling in and out. Patients and their families seemed more relaxed and bunkered down. She looked around and noticed a large Krogan with an equally large helping of food sitting by himself on one of the bar seats. No one seemed to want to sit near a starving Krogan, lest they be added to the menu. The Krogan looked familiar but she couldn't quite place him. She took out her datapad and scanned through Normandy personal. She stopped when she found her match. Wrex Urdnot was listed as part of Shepards team, though not on her interview docket. It may be more work than necessary, but attempting to interview a crewmate not listed could make it seem like she tried her best for Sparatus. She decided to go for it and approached the hungry Krogan.

"Mind if I sit here?"

“Lucky you are in a hospital already human. Won't have to travel far” Wrex bellowed, wrapping his hands around his plate. She stepped back slowly. “Easy there big guy, im just here to ask you questions about Shepard. I'm guessing you know about the investigation?” Wrex gave her a confused stare before chuckling to himself and releasing his plate.

“That Pyjak Sparatus still at his little games huh. Just like a Turian, afraid to go head to head and has to sneak around like Vorcha looking for scraps.” Wrex took a large fork meant for decorative purposes and started gulping down his food. While she was mildly disgusted by such a display, her professional journalistic persona took over and prevented her from dry heaving. 

“Yeah it’s like you say, though you gotta understand, I'm on Shepards’s side. With that in mind can I ask a couple of questions?” Wrex finished slurping what looked like noodles and nodded his head, gesturing for her to continue. 

“Have you ever seen Shepard be excessively violent?”

“Excessive violence? What the hell do you call a Spectre for? They don't hand out cooking lady.” Wrex said through chewed up food.

“Let me rephrase that, did she use violence excessively for an Alpha?” Emily asked.

"What's an Alpha?" Wrex asked appearing genuinely confused.

"You know, like evolutionary biological breeding system in humans and other aliens? Alpha’s and Omegas release pheromones to attract one another to mate? Do you really not know?"

"What? Why would I know and care how aliens have sex? Only thing that matters is how to kill them." Wrex growled, seemingly annoyed at her line of questioning. “Krogans don't have that, we were born correctly.” He huffed before stopping curiously to stare at her. "Hold on, what do you mean pheromones? I thought she smelled like that because of some product to take care of that thing you humans have on your head. You know that stringy nonsense?"

"Hair?" She replied confused.   
"Yeah that's the one. Are you saying she naturally smells amazing because she is what? A top breed Alpha? And she actually has a quad?? Hahaha those Omegas don't stand a damn chance!" Wrex laughed hard enough to cause the stool to creak. He slammed his fist on the bar and held on so he wouldn't topple over. Seeing as his fit of hysterics was not ending soon, she decided to leave him in his jovial mirth and get on with the show.

***

She found a quiet corner room with a single lounge chair just for herself and started reviewing her notes. Her interviews with the crew generally reached the same conclusion. Shepard was loved and respected. The way they talked about her made her realize Shepard had that edge that inspired others to follow her into hell itself. A natural born leader. Nothing in here that Sparatus could use against her. At least she was done with her blackmailed project. There was just one thing that kept pricking her naturally inquisitive brain. She noticed mating bites on some of the women of the Normandy. The Asari Liara T’soni, Ashley Williams, Dr Chakwas, and the Quarian Tali’Zorah nar Rayya to be precise. Well, she inferred Tali had a bite considering she kept absentmindedly stroking her neck on the same spot. Big vessels are bound to have some omegas, so having claimed omegas is not unnatural. What was unnatural was that they were giving off the same pheromones. Man was the scent intoxicatingly strong. She could simply be reading too much into it. After all they are on the same vessel, they could smell like each other because they spend most of their time together. A non scandalous reason, simple and uncomplicated. Occam's razor. Something kept telling her to dig. A noise from the empty hallway interrupted her thoughts. She slowly stood up and crept towards the door and saw a Salarian Doctor and what appeared to be his assistant holding a datapad. 

She recognized the salarians from the STG medical unit that was on Virmire with the commander. They seemed relatively uninjured but incredibly exhausted. The added slouch appearing to extend their concave chest down to their stomach. "Make sure to transfer all medical information to Dr. Chakwas before your shift ends today." The doctor said while strolling by. The assistant gave a quizzical look towards his colleague.

"Dr. Chakwas? The chief medical officer of the Normandy?" The doctor nodded in response. 

"Yes, she wants to keep apprised on the status of her fellow crew." The assistant raised a finger from his datapad.

"B-but it says here that she is also a patient of the hospital. Is it wise to give her the current charts that other doctors are using?" The doctor sighed and pinched the bridge of his forehead. 

" the Commander signed off on it. Are you the one that is going to deny her request to her face? I sure am not risking that." The smaller assistant let out a small cough.

"It um, says here she is also pregnant. Like the others, she seems to have the same Alpha as the father. Why is no one bringing this up?" The doctor walked up to his colleague and held him by the coat.

"Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. We were assigned to the group by captain Kirrahe himself. Our job is to make sure the Normandy crew are fine, and that all information stays private and between us. While you were cowering in the makeshift camp, we fought and died with Shepard's team. They answered the call and came to our rescue. If they need something as simple as information suppression then that is the least we can do.” The doctor beamed at his assistant with narrow eyes, ready to smack him if he responded incorrectly.   
“ Now, what do we do when we are called to help?" The assistant shifted his stance and adjusted the coat.

" u-um we hold the line, sir." The doctor nodded and pointed to a nearby room with terminal access. " We will make an STG of you yet. I'll handle Commander Shepard's exam myself, don't want her to see how green you are. Get to typing.” The assistant quickly shuffled off.

It all made sense now. Proximity was not the reason for similarities in smell. The prominent female members of Shepard's crew all had the same pheromones and dental marks on their necks because they all mated with the same Alpha. It is a rare occurrence, but she has heard of an Alpha taking more than one mate from time to time. But four of them from the same area? Talk about understanding Omegas. 

She knew she should not really care about their private life, but everything harkens back to her early days as an online gossip reporter. When she received her online degree in journalism from Tersai university, a small school based in Illium, she found herself unemployed for longer than she was proud to admit. In fear of going stir crazy in her apartment her parents paid for, she took the only job offering her employment. Sunrise over Astra. A terrible site that peddled pure gossip in and around Nos Astra. Her first assignment was outing a fellow diplomat's son as a Hanar fetishist. Not exactly an assignment that would put her on the map, but she was tired of asking her parents for her allowance. In the end she managed to snap a picture of the diplomat's son in a compromising position. It was difficult to tell where arms and legs started and tentacles ended. It made her feel lower than gum on shoes. What made it worse was that not only was she great at finding information, but she relished in the hunt. Listening in on people's conversations, extracting useful information from garbage, and connecting the dots from the most ambiguous scraps of information tickled her unused journalistic muscles. After a while she managed to snag an internship on the citadel with an up and coming news site. While her career did not flourish to where she would have liked, it did afford her an apartment and spending money. 

There were a couple of alphas registered on the Normandy, but she refused to believe they were a strong enough catch to attract that many mates. Well, all but one. Commander Shepard, Lion of Elysium, first human Spectre, and the savior of the citadel. If that pedigree doesn't set omega tongues wagging she doesn't know what will. Letting this go would simply keep her up at night wondering what the answer was. She decided to satiate her curiosity by using her drone to verify or disprove her suspicions. Shepard would most likely take the less used staff entrance at the back in order to not cause a fuss when she's discharged. In a couple of days she would set her plan in motion, now it's just the waiting game.

***

She hid her info drone with direct video up link in the nearby flower beds, allowing her to capture the moment from all angles. Now she was waiting like an idiot in a broken down ward of the hospital in order to catch of glimpse of Shepard and the Omegas as they left using the more private staff exit. She heard the door slide open and peered through the window using her hololens. She saw Shepard being escorted out in a wheelchair by a Turian nurse into the company of her Omegas. Shepard turned her head and dismissed the nurse with a smile. Liara stepped closer to Shepard and held out a hand to help her stand. As she rose the rest of the group got closer and started showering her with affection. Ashley and Liara were at each side, kissing every inch of her exposed flesh. They nuzzled her neck afterwards in order to drown in the scent they had been sorely deprived off. Directly in the middle was the smaller Quarian Tali. She had Shepard in one vice grip of a hug and and judging by the glowing optics of her visor, was whispering sweet nothings to her. Dr Chakwas was holding Shepard from the back, alternating between nibbling on her ear and whispering into it. It wasn't at all the raunchy, exotic reunion she was expecting. It was more ...intimate. Witnessing the moment made her feel like a pervy voyeur. This was a moment between lovers who almost lost one another. Lovers expressing joy at their loved ones return and recovery. She tapped her omni tool and terminated the link. She sighed and let her head rest on the cool glass window. She was glad Shepard found something so many others are looking for, Love and acceptance. Maybe one day she too would know what that feels like. She turned around and saw the tiny retreating figure of Shepard as she was taken away laughing with her family. She now knew what the unstoppable force was that drove Shepard forward. Strong enough to derail rogue Spectres and political intrigue. Powerful enough to prevail over Geth and their Gods. It was uncertain what the plans for Shepard were after the attack from the Geth. What she did know was one simple fact. Heaven help those that come between Commander Shepard and the mothers of her children.


End file.
